Disciple of Darkness
by Lucenthia
Summary: Xehanort has been dead for decades. But Heartless still enroach on the Realm of Light, and something larger threatens from the darkness; something Leela, the first Princess of Heart to wield a Keyblade since Kairi, will have to face with her friends.
1. Chapter 1

Leela basked in the warm heat of the Agrabah bazaar. The sweet smell of dates clashed with the scents of spices, making her eyes water. With one hand she waved away an enthusiastic vendor who was thrusting a bowl of spices in her face, while she used the other to drag along Ayuto, who was trying to look as pitiful as he could.

"Can we please go back now?" His thin wrist was slicked with sweat and he was in danger of being swept away by the crowd. Leela felt a short pang of pity for him, before reassuring herself that being dragged along on excursions once in a while was something everyone did for the person they were dating. Her resolve grew when she remembered how he and Jean had tried for hours to interest her in Traverse Town's new austerity policies, and what it meant for the citizens. At least this excursion was for a good cause.

Still, Ayuto's pale skin was already reddening from sunburn, and she didn't want him to collapse from heatstroke. She paused to let him catch his breath and said, "You'd better get used to this or you won't be any help on our exam."

"I'm dying. Tell the others I loved them."

"No, you don't."

Ayuto groaned and rested his head on Leela's. "Okay, not Kayla. But everyone else." He paused for a few seconds before adding, "But you especially."

Leela brushed his black hair out of his eyes and kissed him on the cheek before moving away and said, "This is nothing. When I was a kid it would be so hot you'd burn your skin off if you just touched the sand."

"You are such a local." Ayuto said. "What are we even here for again?"

"Cindy's birthday present." Leela chirped.

"No wonder I forgot." Ayuto muttered." Leela lightly jabbed him in the ribs and continued walking. "What are you even looking for?"

"That's so beautiful!" Leela darted to a stall boasting dozens of multicolored ceramics. The new dyes extracted from plants in the forests of the Dwarf Woodlands resulted in deep purple and red hues that ceramicists used to decorate the majority of their commissions.

"Got them fresh from the forges of the Dwarf Woodlands." The vendor boasted. Her turban was a garish green and beneath her robes Leela saw the brass ring that marked her as a member of the Merchant's Union. "They've seen the hands of master Dwarves."

This was a blatant lie, as Dwarves worked strictly with metals and minerals, leaving clay to the hands of humans. But Leela didn't bother correcting the vendor. She peered at a yellow and brown cup that looked like the landscape of a desert. The vase beside it was a vibrant green and blue, and had been glazed so well the surface seemed untouched by dust or scratches. These pieces had never seen the hands of Dwarves, but it was clear they had been made by practiced Magesmiths.

Beside her Ayuto was examining a chillum pipe that fit into the palm of his hand. He twirled it between his long fingers and asked, "How much?"

"Ah, you have good taste." The vendor swooped towards Ayuto. "This was made by the best artisans Agrabah has to offer. Smoke flows through this pipe like water flows through a river."

"Oh, light." Leela said. "Are you going for the pretentious philosopher look? Because with your books and pipe, you're getting pretty close."

"It looks nice." Ayuto protested. He put it back and said, "Are you getting anything?"

"No, the mugs are too heavy and Cindy wouldn't use them." Leela sighed and moved away. "But they were definitely nice. The new trade deals between Agrabah and the Dwarf Woodlands are great, and _don't,"_ she pointed at Ayuto. "start some lecture on economics."

She ducked under hangers of shirts and Ayuto had to double over to follow. It was only when she emerged on the other side and glanced at her watch that she realized they had been here for too long. "We're going to be late!"

"What do you mean, we were told to be back by sundown." Ayuto's eyes widened in horrror.

"The sun sets quickly here." Leela said. "Damn, I'll have to get Cindy's birthday present another day."

"Just get something now."

"But it's Cindy, it has to be _right._ " Leela felt torn and wanted to run in three different directions.

"Here, I've seen Cindy wearing things like these." Ayuto tugged a long sleeved undershirt off a rack and desperately waved it in Leela's face.

"I don't have time for bargaining." Leela said, like she was explaining something obvious to a junior apprentice. "It would be an insult."

"To who, you?" Ayuto handed the shirt back to an outraged merchant.

"No, to whoever's selling it." Leela grabbed him and forged her way back through the crowds. "And this might be the last time we eat with the juniors. We can't be late!"

Twenty minutes later, the sun now a dull orange almost touching the horizon, Leela and Ayuto rushed through the backdoor of the house they were staying in. It was a square structure with rooms surrounding a central courtyard with a pool in the middle.

"Hey, look who it is." Cindy waved to them from inside the pool. Her long limbs were completely submerged, and only her head remained above water. "The junior's are almost done with dinner."

"No smoke from the kitchen this time?" Ayuto asked. He turned to Leela and added. "See, isn't this a more pleasant way to spend our last afternoon before the exam? Just doing nothing?"

"That's boring." Leela said. She sat on the edge of the pool and let her legs dangle in the water. "Feeling nervous?" She nudged Cindy's shoulder.

"Yes." Cindy said. She paused before adding, "I don't know how you two can be so calm about tomorrow. Did you get anything nice from the bazaar?"

Ayuto jumped into the pool fully clothed and laughed. "Not quite. Someone here kept getting distracted."

Leela kicked water in his direction and replied. "It was a nice experience."

Ayuto cast an Aero spell, which sent water flying in Leela's direction. "That depends on who you ask." He looked back at Cindy and said, "Have you been in here all day?"

"No, just for an hour or so. I was studying up on all the common Heartless before this, and before that I was looking at the local geography."

"What do we need to know the geography for?" Ayuto sank to the bottom and clawed his way from one end of the pool to the other.

"If Keaton sends us out there for an extended period of time, knowing things like where the nearest oases are might be important."

"Isn't that what we have maps for?" Ayuto asked.

"It's just better if we already know them." Cindy said. She shrugged and ran her hand through her chestnut hair that she always kept short. "It can't hurt."

Ayuto opened his mouth to retort, but a quick look from Leela made him hesitate. He cleared his throat and said. "Better safe than sorry, I guess."

"I'm sure we'll do fine." Leela squeezed Cindy's shoulders. "Come on, the food's smelling good."

"I think the juniors have been setting our standards pretty low." Ayuto said.

"The thing with the bacon happened a month ago, and the food's been fine since." Cindy pushed herself out of the pool and started drying herself with a towel she had left beside her clothes. "Stop making them feel bad."

"Admit it, you still get scared at the thought of an unsupervised junior at a stove." Ayuto allowed himself one more somersault before getting out of the pool. "I bet the only reason you can relax now is because Jean and Kayla are in there keeping an eye on things."

"Picking on the juniors for one last time, more like it." Leela sighed.

Ayuto cast an Aero spell around him and let the wind rush around him until he was mostly dry. "They're just feeling sentimental."

As if summoned, Jean and Kayla emerged from the kitchen. Kayla's thick red hair was tied into a tight bun, and her thick arms were folded in front of her. "Dinner's ready," she said.

The food exceeded Leela's expectations. The grains of rice weren't stuck together or overcooked, and she doused everything in chili sauce until her eyes were streaming, just the way she liked it. Ayuto scarfed down seconds as usual, only pausing to flick hair away from his eyes, but even Cindy was eating with enthusiasm, which Leela hadn't expected given her nerves. She turned to the five juniors who had been glancing at the senior apprentices between bites. "This was really good."

"Thanks." Zhao said. He and the other junior apprentices grinned at each other. He looked back at Leela and said. "Good luck on your exam."

Leela felt a pang of pride as she remembered the scared boy from the Land of Dragons that they had recruited three years ago. Just last month he and the other junior apprentices had defeated two Armored Bandit Heartless. She grinned and said. "We haven't passed yet. If we fail, you'll have us for another six months."

"Not unless we die." Jean added. He looked up from his food to wink at Zhao and paused to enjoy the shocked expressions of the juniors. Then he added. "But don't worry, no one's died from an exam in months."

"The last fatality from a Journeyman exam was three years ago." Kayla said. When the other nine apprentices stared at her she just shrugged and said, "I asked master Keaton."

"You ruined my fun." Jean tried to pout, but the stubble that lined his thin face and the scar that ran along his right cheek ruined the effect and made him look ridiculous.

"Did you ask him about the pass-fail rate?" Cindy turned to Kayla.

"He said that it varied depending on the Master, but no cohort of his has ever failed more than twice."

"See, you might still be stuck with us." Jean poked at Zhao.

"Thanks for the confidence boost." Ayuto said. "Makes us feel a lot better."

"If you wanted a confidence boost, maybe you could have spent today training instead of sightseeing." Kayla said.

Ayuto leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "You worry about you and I'll worry about me."

"We're almost Journeymen and you still don't get it." Kayla said. "We're a team, which means our performance is everyone's business. If we don't work as a team, how are we going to fare in the Realm of Darkness?"

"We'll do fine." Leela said. Jean snorted, and Leela kicked him under the table. "Let's just eat, okay?"

"I'm all for the nutritional value for dinner, but we should be realistic." Jean said. "Whatever our chances of becoming Journeymen are, the chances of surviving what's next is lower."

"Thanks for the meal." Cindy got up, shoveled the extra food into the bin, then left.

The juniors glanced at one another, none of them wanting to make eye contact with one of the seniors. The silence was broken by Ayuto, who said, "And this is why Keaton doesn't let you near us unsupervised."

Leela gulped down the rest of her meal and turned to the juniors. "Thanks for the meal. And don't worry, we're just nervous." She then went out to look for Cindy. It didn't take long. She was pacing back and forth on the roof's edge, both arms flung out for balance.

"I'm fine, Leela."

"I know."

"I mean it. You should study."

"One day you'll actually fall."

Cindy hopped off and opened her mouth to reply, but shut it and jerked her head to one side. Leela's Keyblade fell into her hand automatically and she looked for whatever had caught Cindy's attention. Cindy whispered, "I heard Master talking."

The house that Agrabah granted Keyblade Wielders was next to the training grounds for ordinary troops. In the alley between the house and five story high barracks, Keaton's hand glowed as he talked into it. "Won't make a difference if they're not good enough."

The spell he was using to talk lit up his square jaw and blue eyes. "Don't act as if you know what's best. The only precedent we have is Kairi, and she died along with Xehanort. You don't have any more experience in this area than I do."

Leela's face flushed as Cindy glanced at her. She shook her head and kept on listening. "Get another Princess of Heart. The one who inherited Alice's Heart can be spared. Or get Grandmaster Escarra."

He listened to the response and said. "I'm not holding any of them back. If they pass, you'll get them. If not, you won't. Just like I've done with every other apprentice I've sent you."

Cindy started gnawing on her lip. Below them, Keaton said, "Understood. Anything else?" His voice implied that the answer had better be 'no'". His wish was granted. The spell vanished and the street was plunged back into darkness.

They waited until Keaton shut the door to their house before moving from their position. "Do you think a Princess of Heart has died?" Leela asked. "It sounded like they needed a new one somewhere."

Cindy shook her head. "I can't think about any of this. Not on top of our exam."

"Okay." Leela extended her arms out for a hug, which Cindy accepted after a moment hesitation. She clung to Leela for as long as she allowed herself, then drew back and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "We can talk about this after the exam. See you tomorrow." She shifted her feet, then hurried down to her room. Leela stayed outside to gaze at Agrabah, taking in the winding streets, the palace, and the walls encircling the whole city, then followed Cindy.

* * *

A/N: So, thanks for reading! This is my first story in a while, so any feedback/first impressions are always appreciated. Hope you enjoyed reading!

Also, shoutout to TorNathan for helping me shape this story in my head and giving me ideas to push this story along. He's a cool author and you should definitely check him out on .


	2. Chapter 2

Keaton shook them all awake while the juniors were still sleeping. The five of them dressed in silence and were taken to a group of camels in a stable next to their house. After saddling the camels with enough provisions to last them a week, they were led to the base of the wall surrounding Agrabah. Its shadow stretched past the first several blocks of houses, and with the looming structure behind him, Keaton seemed more imposing than ever.

"Yesterday we got word that a Possessor wiped out the small town Dharan. Your mission is to take the necessary actions to contain and destroy this Heartless." Keaton said. "Any questions?"

None of them replied. Keaton inclined his head and said, "Then good luck. Today the doors will open for you. You may set out when you're ready." He turned a corner and left them alone.

The five apprentices glanced at each other, and it was as if Leela had forgotten her training. Though Keaton had assigned them to find and destroy Heartless before, it had been on a smaller scale. This Possessor could be anywhere on Agrabah. Then Jean got off his camel and sat on the ground and everyone else followed. He pulled out a map from his pack and laid it on the ground. "We should start looking at nearby ruins. It'll hide among things it can possess."

"We should start with the Sohar Cluster." Kayla pointed at a spot northeast of Agrabah. "It's only two days ride from here, and the cluster would give lots of potential hiding spots."

"Why not Nizwa?" Ayuto pointed directly north of Agrabah. "It's the closest ruins to Dharan, and it would only take us a day to get there."

"A Possessor that could wipe out a town could have gone anywhere in the area." Kayla replied. "Nizwa was also destroyed almost twenty years ago, there might not be much left to Possess."

"It's a place to start, isn't it?"

"Sorry, but I'm with Kayla on this." Cindy said. "If the Possessor isn't in the Sohar Cluster, we'll loop back around to Nizwa, going through the old outposts."

Ayuto thought about this before nodding. "On to the Sohar Cluster, then?"

All of them nodded. They repacked their bags and mounted their camels. The five of them summoned their Keyblades, all of which took the forms of different weapons. Leela held a curved sword that resembled a large kukri, with a curved blade that thickened at the end. From the tip of the blade, a ray of light shone out and hit the wall. The five of them held their Keyblades aloft until the wall glowed for a second, and when the light died down, a doorway six metres tall and wide enough for entire caravans to fit through had appeared in its place. There were small slits in the walls through which Leela saw guards with their weapons ready as they rode through.

The door shut behind them. All five of them shaded their eyes from the sun, but even the sand reflected the sunlight and dug at their eyes. Jean said, "It's still a few hours until midday. We'll ride for a few hours, rest until late afternoon, then keep on going."

For the first hour Leela's heart was pounding from the prospect of a Heartless attack. Cindy shared this anxiety, and was constantly craning her neck to look behind them. Kayla dropped back and whispered to them. "Don't worry so much, you'll tire yourself out."

"I just don't want to be taken by surprise." Cindy said.

"How many Heartless do you know are stealthy?" Kayla asked. When Cindy just shrugged, Kayla continued, "And you know just as well as I do that Heartless either wander around looking for Hearts, or stay in the area where they lost them. That means the most dangerous thing out here is dehydration and exhaustion."

"I know." Cindy said. "I'm fine, I'll deal with it."

Kayla glanced at Leela, but Cindy said, "And you don't have to act like Leela's my babysitter. I can take care of myself."

"We know." Leela said. She leaned over and squeezed Cindy's shoulder. "Just tell us if you need anything, okay?"

Cindy nodded and they continued riding. The sun rose in the sky and the air grew hotter, until just breathing made Leela's throat and nose ache. She made sure to take occasional sips from her flask, but kept the drinking to a minimum. She didn't know when they would be able to refill. When she next looked up, her team were all slumping in their saddles, and Jean looked like he was about to fall off his camel. The hottest part of the day was also approaching them.

"Jean." She rode up to him and tugged on his shoulder. "We should stop."

Jean turned around. His cheeks were flushed and it took a second longer for his eyes to focus on Leela. She grabbed his shoulders and repeated herself.

He shook his head and murmured something unintelligible.

Leela trotted over to Kayla and said, "I think we should stop."

"Are you sure?" Kayla rasped. "It's only been a couple hours."

"Just look at us."

Kayla slowly looked around and nodded. "Should have been paying more attention. Jean?"

"Didn't want to stop."

Kayla groaned. "Hasn't been drinking." She pointed at a sand dune a few hundred metres away. "We'll pull the camels up there. We've been forgetting to water them as well."

Leela wanted to kick herself, but told herself that worrying about past mistakes wasn't going to do them any good. The five of them straggled into the partial shade of the sand dune. Jean dismounted, almost tripping over himself. To his credit, he still knew better than to sit in the sand, which was so hot Leela was sure they would get blisters if they were exposed.

"Let's get this set up." Cindy handed a corner of their tarp to Leela. Behind her, Ayuto was unfurling the groundsheet of one of their tents for them to sit on. They only set up a basic structure, just adequate enough to protect them from the sun, but it seemed to take hours. When they were done, Leela watered the camels and joined the rest of the apprentices, huddled together in the shade.

"I was being stupid." Jean said after a long silence. "It won't happen again."

"We all were." Kayla said. "This mistake is on us as a team." She nudged Ayuto and thrust her flask of water in his face. "Have you drank?"

Ayuto took the flask and nodded gratefully before passing it back. Leela rested her head on his shoulder and gazed back at Agrabah. The city almost seemed like a miniature drawing on the horizon. He chuckled and said, "We haven't even gone that far and we're already in this state."

"Drink more." Cindy said. "There's an oasis several hours from here, so we don't need to worry too much about conserving water."

"And we've gone farther than it looks." Leela added. "Distances can trick you in the desert."

"We've probably travelled forty kilometres." Jean's voice wasn't as slurred and he shifted behind Leela. "Things look closer than they are in the desert."

"Do we have an extra tarp?" Kayla asked. "I'm going to keep watch. Any Heartless could sneak up from behind this dune."

"There's another in my pack." Leela said.

She started to crawl out of their small tent to retrieve it, but Kayla stopped her. "Just one of us needs to keep watch. You guys rest."

Leela tried to protest but Kayla shut her down with a look. "I've got it. Don't worry."

The afternoon passed without incident. After a few hours Leela relieved Kayla on watch duty. A few hours after that, everyone else woke, made sure their camels were in good shape, and set off. They ate a quick dinner as they rode and the sun set. Leela savored the bundle of rice and meat that had been wrapped in thick leaves, though she needed to drink extra water to wash it down. Jean and Cindy rode ahead, glancing between the map and the stars to navigate. Around midnight, they paused to crunch a handful of coffee beans. Leela screwed her face up in disgust, but she soon felt the effects, and stayed alert through the whole night.

There was only once where a swarm of Red Nocturnes were spotted in the distance, and the five of them passed unnoticed. The sun rose half an hour after that, and they all shed the woolen cloaks they had worn to protect them from the cold night. Soon after, they slept for a several hours in the shade of several granite rocks (Jean and Cindy took watch this time), and continued riding in the evening.

"Well, this isn't creepy at all." Ayuto muttered. The moon was waning but still cast enough light on the ruins of the abandoned town in front of them to see. "Do we know what this town's called?"

"The map doesn't say." Jean said. "This group has just been called the Sohar Cluster since they pooled their resources together."

Kayla started to walk forwards, but Jean placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let's think about this first."

"What's there to think about?" Kayla asked. "We look for the Possessor, and if it's not here, we move on."

"This thing wiped out Dharan by itself." Jean said. "It didn't do it just by possessing a door or a fountain."

"You're thinking it could be mobile." Cindy said. "We also don't know how much of these ruins are underground. "

"So what's the plan?" Leela asked.

Cindy thought for a moment, then said. "We do need to draw it out, but we can't risk it taking out all of us in the first strike." She paused before saying, "We need bait."

"Too bad none of the juniors are here." Jean smirked.

"Not the time." Kayla punched him in the shoulder before turning to Cindy. "I should go, I'm more durable than any of you."

"Durability doesn't mean much if you're being crushed by three hundred kilograms of stone." Ayuto said. "It should be me and Cindy. We're the most agile."

Cindy nodded. "Then Jean, Kayla and Leela will be on standby on the outskirts."

"Wait." Jean frowned at the sand before saying, "I think Leela should go."

"What?" Both Ayuto and Cindy chorused.

Jean interrupted the both of them and said, "We all know Heartless are more attracted to her than the rest of us. I'd like Cindy and Leela to go."

"I'm not sure why that's a good thing." Ayuto said. "The Heartless will just be more aggressive."

He turned to Cindy for support, but Cindy was slowly nodding. "Better we draw it out quickly."

"We'll also need you to kill the Possessor once it's been banished from its body." Kayla said. "If it flies away, it's more travelling looking for the lightdamned thing."

"Get Jean to do it, his Keyblade's a bow and arrow." Ayuto jabbed his finger at Jean.

"Technically it's just a bow." Jean said. "And I'll do my best to hurt it, but with your air magic and maneuverability in the air, your daggers will do more damage."

"Don't let your emotions get in the way of your judgement." Kayla said.

"Don't start lecturing me." Ayuto started to raise his voice. He stepped forward, but Leela came in between them. "I'm doing it. It's not your job to protect me from Heartless." Ayuto wavered and she added, "We've talked about this before, remember?"

Ayuto bit his lip before nodding.

Jean made the sound of a whip cracking, which earned him death glares from the four other apprentices. He flinched and quickly continued. "We'll send Leela and Cindy in first. Ayuto and Kayla will be following twenty metres behind them or so, staying on high ground when possible. There's a watchtower on the other end of the town, and that's where I'll start off. If I see any disturbances, I'll let you know."

"And if it isn't there?" Ayuto asked.

"Then we move on to the next town." Kayla said. "Are we ready? We're wasting time."

They all nodded. Jean ran ahead to the watchtower and would send a signal when he was in position. Leela looked to Cindy, who looked much calmer than Leela felt. She summoned her Keyblade with a flash of light, and a spear dropped into her hands. The shaft glowed in the dark, and Cindy performed a basic move set to prepare herself. Her arms were steady, and Leela would never have guessed that she was nervous.

Leela summoned her own Keyblade and swung it around in a familiar figure of eight motion that took advantage of the momentum she could build. The spine of the blade was thicker at the end, and she could carve her way through several Heartless with the extra weight at the end.

"You feeling okay?" Cindy put a hand on Leela's shoulder. "Sorry we pressured you into being bait."

"I'll be fine." Leela said. "Besides, sacrifice is needed to destroy the darkness and all that."

"I know, I know." Cindy said. "You don't need to repeat Keaton's lectures to me."

An arrow laced with fire shot into the night sky and briefly illuminated the dilapidated town. The four of them glanced at each other before moving in. Leela and Cindy stalked ahead, knocking down doors and peering into the ruined houses. It felt unnatural. Most of the buildings were intact, but with no sign of life. No sounds of children yelling underfoot, or adults gossping as they walked down the streets. It almost felt like Leela was in a dream.

"For a town destroyed by Heartless five years ago, everything looks well-maintained." Leela said. The sound of her voice didn't comfort her.

"Heartless take hearts, not houses." Cindy said. She raised her spear up as they emerged into a small square with a dry fountain. The murals on walls that were now eroded glared at them. "And don't talk, we might miss the Possessor."

They continued creeping through the town. Sometimes Leela heard a louder scraping noise, or a soft thump, but when she turned around it was only Ayuto or Kayla behind them. After gradually circling through the town, the four of them made their way to the town center. A larger fountain dominated the center, with a wide base to collect water. It was dry now, but before it would be used to wash clothes and food.

Something scuttled behind the rotten hardwood of a broken stall. Cindy leveled her Keyblade in the direction of the sound, and the two of them slowly approached. Their only warning was a glimpse of yellow eyes that glowed in the night. Then a group of Bandit Heartless burst out of the ruins. Turbans covered their faces, and they carried a shamshir in each of their hands. They chittered amongst themselves, then charged towards Leela and Cindy.

It was almost with relief that Leela charged her Keyblade with lightning and cast Thundara on the incoming Heartless. The leading two Heartless stumbled and Leela sprang forwards. She sank the curved end of her Keyblade into a Bandit, kicked it away, then jumped back to avoid the others. Most of the group charged towards Leela, but before they had gotten within reach, Ayuto and Kayla fell from the sky.

Kayla smashed one to dust instantly with her gauntlets. She crashed to the ground and leapt at another Heartless, ducking under its first swipe and delivering an uppercut that sent it flying away. Ayuto stuck his two daggers up to the hilt in a Bandit's head, then cast Fira at its chest. The Heartless stumbled about and reeked of burning cloth and the bitter stench of darkness. Ayuto moved on. He summoned his Keyblade back into this hands and darted around another Heartless, who was using its longer reach to keep Ayuto away.

Leela and Cindy danced around the group of Heartless that were targeting Leela. She kept them away with Thundara and Fira spells that sent smoke wafting into the sky. Cindy then stabbed and slashed at them where their swords couldn't reach. Only one Heartless was able to duck within the reach of Cindy's spearhead, but Leela deflected its blade and smashed at it with the pommel of her Keyblade. It stumbled back just in time for Cindy to skewer its neck.

The fight only lasted a minute. By the end, all four of them were breathing heavily, but victorious. The usual stench of darkness filled the air, and Leela said, "Let's get out of here."

"If the Possessor was here, it would have come for us." Cindy agreed. "It stinks."

"Hold on." Ayuto sat on the ground and took off his shirt, revealing a gash along his chest. He held the tip of his Keyblade to the wound, and it glowed a green light. The wound slowly closed, and he tried swinging his arm. "Good to go."

"That's a messy heal." Cindy poked at his shoulder as they walked back to their camels. "You need to practice."

"Then next time you do it." Ayuto said.

"Healing you is not my job."

"Great job, everyone." Jean walked out of an adjoining street to join them. "Could have done a little better of not walking into swords," He smirked at Ayuto. "But everything else was great."

"Thanks for the help." Ayuto said.

"You guys were doing fine." Jean said. "Besides, I wouldn't want to accidentally shoot anyone." He raised an eyebrow at Kayla. "They might not speak to me for a whole month."

"You were ten metres away that time."

The two of them continued bickering until they reached their camels. The five of them took the chance to drink before riding to the next town. They arrived within half an hour, unsaddled, and took the same positions as before. The watchtower in this town looked more damaged, but Jean assured them he could climb it.

This time the arrow he sent was tinged with lightning that crackled as it soared into the sky.

"Show off." Kayla muttered.

Leela felt even more nervous, creeping through the second town. The streets were filled with sand and small bits of gravel that years of sandstorms had eroded away. No matter how Leela tried, the ground crunched with each step she took. Cindy was almost silent. Her feet almost glided over the ground. Every time they passed an alley, or an open door, Leela stared into the shadows, searching for any sign of a Heartless.

A door fell off its hinges. Leela had just turned around when an entire block of houses flew at them, like a wave of rock and wood. Leela dashed away and slid into an alley as the ruins behind her exploded. Sand blew into her eyes and mouth. She spat and whirled around. The Possessor was shaped like a six legged dog that towered over the houses. It trampled towards Leela, churning up even more ruin in its wake.

Trapped in an alley, Leela sprinted away. She couldn't hide in the houses, the Heartless would just crush her. Couldn't climb, it was right on top of her. It kicked at her with a leg that was like a column of stone tearing through the street. Leela turned and braced herself. Her arms and Keyblade surged with light, and she swung back. The impact sent a shock through her arms, and she flew back and crashed into a house at the end of the street. Her back and shoulder screamed in pain, but she cast a Cure spell that numbed the pain.

She sprang to her feet and used the space the Heartless had given her to scramble up the house she had crashed into. Meanwhile, Cindy's spearhead shone and was like a hornet darting about the Heartless. She jumped on its back, swiped at its skin, then rolled off onto an adjacent roof after being shaken off.

The Possessor's skin rippled, then sent stone spikes hurtling at Cindy. She jumped to another roof, then leapt over to Leela. She pointed her Keyblade in Leela's direction, and an amber glow settled around their skin.

"Thanks, I needed that." Leela said. The Haste spell Cindy cast took effect, and the Possessor seemed to slow as it turned towards them.

The Possessor charged. Cindy and Leela dashed towards it, sliding in between its legs and slashing at its underbelly. Chips of sandstone peppered Leela's face, but she kept her eyes open, then rolled away from a boulder that flew towards them.

She found herself up against a wall and prepared to swing at the Possessor as it swung its leg again. Instead, its leg buckled and its entire body dipped. Ayuto and Kayla had crashed on top of the beast. Leela supposed she was lucky the beast hadn't fallen and crushed her. Then Cindy was there, tugging Leela away from the fight.

"Jean wants us to lead it to the town center." Cindy yelled. She ducked inside a house that was still standing and ran up the stairs. "We don't have enough room to fight on the streets."

They emerged onto the roof just in time to nearly get blown off the roof by an explosion. Leela swore as Jean released another shower of bright red arrows at the Heartless that ripped off its stone skin with each explosion. "I am going to have a long talk with Jean after this." Leela yelled.

"In his defense it's pretty dark." Cindy said.

"It's bigger than the Land of Departure, how could he miss?" The ringing in Leela's head subsided and she stopped seeing double images.

She struggled to her feet and started leaping across the roofs to the town center. Jean was perched on what used to be the mayor's house, and he readied another wave of arrows.

"Now you're exaggerating." Cindy said. "And as long as we're criticizing fighting styles, how about your decision to swing at three hundred kilograms of stone."

"I needed space." Leela protested. "It was hard with all the rubble around me."

"You could have run behind the Heartless." Cindy said. "It can't turn around that quickly."

Leela realized Cindy had a point, but didn't have enough spare breath to retort. The two of them ran the rest of the way in silence. Ayuto and Kayla were already waiting for them as they slid to a halt.

"We've got ten seconds." Cindy panted. "Plan?"

"I shoot, you follow through." Jean raised his bow, pulled the bowstring, and concentrated as much power as he could into one arrow. It crackled with energy, and Leela hoped his shot wouldn't go wild. "Leela and Kayla, go in after that. Ayuto, get ready to pursue."

The Possessor crashed through the streets and barreled towards them. As it closed in, Jean let his arrow loose. It hit the Possessor in the forehead with a sound like a thunderclap. It roared in pain and chunks of rock flew in every direction. Cindy sprang forwards and sunk her spear almost halfway into the fleshy darkness that oozed beneath the shell of rock. Kayla dashed towards its front legs, while Leela leapt onto its forehead and hacked at the weak spot Cindy and Jean had generated.

Cindy landed next to her and was about to stab its weak point again when the world slowed. Leela's limbs suddenly felt sluggish, like she was wearing a backpack. Both she and Cindy stumbled and the Possessor shook them off. It was only when Leela crashed to the ground that she realized Cindy's Haste spell had worn off.

The Heartless turned towards them. Through foggy vision and a pounding headache, Leela picked herself up and saw Kayla stand between them and the Heartless. Jean fired arrows at it, chipping off bits of stone, but the Possessor ignored him.

Before it moved towards them, Ayuto plunged from the sky and sank his Keyblade into the Heartless. It roared in pain and its head fell forwards. Ayuto tried to extricate himself but was too late, and the entire Heartless collapsed on him. Leela yelled as he was buried under almost a ton of rock.

But the Possessor was now flying away. Cindy threw her spear at it, but it fell short. Jean shot three arrows and all of them struck, but they were too weak. It merely wobbled in the air and flew away.

Leela rushed to the pile of rocks and started digging. A burst of wind blew her and most of the rocks back. Ayuto stumbled out of the wreckage and walked over to the team. Leela said, "Thank light you're okay," at the same time Kayla said, "You idiot."

Ayuto paused and said. "Can we do this later?"

"No, this is a perfect time." Kayla screwed up her face. "I'm glad you're alive. I am. But we've failed because of you."

"Hey, that's enough." Leela made his way between them, but Ayuto shoved past her. "If it wasn't for me, that thing would have crushed you."

"You didn't know that." Kayla said. "You should have let us deal with it."

"I'm not going to stand by while something like that charges you."

"We're all alive." Leela said.

"Not exactly an accomplishment." Jean muttered.

"I could have handled it." Kayla said.

"Didn't look like it." Ayuto said.

"I thought you'd worry about you, and let me worry about myself." Kayla tried to shove past Leela.

"Shut up!" Leela pushed the two of them apart. Her body was trembling from the strain, but she yelled, "What happened happened, let's just get to our camels and run after it."

"I'm just making sure this doesn't happen again." Kayla said.

"Then don't try and take on a giant piece of rock with your bare hands." Ayuto said.

"Stop." Leela said. "Just, stop. We made mistakes. I made mistakes, and I'm sorry. But can we just please move on?" Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, and they infuriated her.

"But we've failed." Kayla said.

"Not quite." Jean said. "Our mission was to kill the thing. Master didn't give us a time limit."

"And that Possessor can't have travelled far." Cindy said. "We hurt it badly, it's got to be in one of the towns in the Sohar Cluster."

"It went north." Jean said. "That's the direction of the nearest town."

Kayla nodded. "Fine. But this isn't over."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure Master will tell me everything I did wrong." Ayuto said. The five of them started to walk back to the camels. Ayuto and Kayla walked on opposite sides of the road.

The sky had turned a dark blue by the time they straggled back to the outskirts of the town. But their camels were gone.

The five of them stared at empty space before Kayla asked, "What happened?"

Leela could sense a sarcastic retort coming from Ayuto, so she stepped on his foot and said. "Maybe we forgot to tie them down and the fight scared them away."

Kayla let out a choked yell and paced the area. Leela looked to Jean. He silently stood there for several seconds. He walked towards the nearest house, then punched it as hard as he could. The others were transfixed as he took another breath and punched it again. This time he yelled.

Leela glanced at the others who just shrugged nervously. Jean seethed for a moment before Kayla walked up to him. "Did that make you feel better?" She asked.

"No."

"Broken hand?"

"Yes." Jean held it out. "I spent all my magic fighting the thing. Does anyone have any to spare?"

Kayla ran her gauntlet over the hand, and the swollen knuckles fit back into place. They were still stiff, but Jean would be fine. "So now what?"

"We can't even make our way back to Agrabah." Cindy said. "Do we wait for Master to find us?"

"No." Ayuto said. "We can still do this."

Kayla whirled around but Ayuto talked over her. "Just hear me out. The next village is only," He turned to Cindy, who said, "Five kilometres."

"Five kilometres away." Ayuto said. He smiled and said. "Good thing one of us studied up."

Cindy smiled back and said, "You're thinking we rest up and walk there?"

"We don't have any food or water, and we're completely depleted." Jean said.

"We could rest here." Leela said. "This village was only abandoned five years ago. Trade routes with Traverse Town must have reached here," Cindy nodded in confirmation, "So there should be non-perishable foods."

"And we can get water from the town well." Kayla nodded. "So we scavenge in the morning, rest until night, then walk to the next village."

"And if the Possessor isn't there?" Jean asked.

"Then we pick up supplies and walk to the next one." Ayuto said. "Better than waiting here and giving up."

"We'll be weaker." Jean said. "More tired from the walking and the last fight."

"Then we'll be even with the Possessor." Ayuto said. "Cindy said it herself, we hurt it badly."

"Fine." Jean nodded, more to himself, then said, "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed reading! As usual, first impressions/feedback are always welcome. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Leela awoke coated in sweat and grit. Uneven footsteps made their way across the room, probably Ayuto's from the way he had been limping from the last fight. Leela picked herself off the ground, and stretched in the dusty basement they had holed themselves up in for the day. A stack of canned food they had salvaged from the surrounding houses and extra water skins filled from the well lay piled in one dusty corner. Cindy and Kayla still slept in another. Cindy had curled up and tucked her head between her gangly knees, while Kayla had flung her thick limbs askew and spread-eagled next to her. Doing her best to be quiet, Leela grabbed a can of food and tiptoed upstairs to what used to be the mayor's living room. Chairs, a table, and a set of drawers inlaid with metal lay scattered across the room where they had been abandoned. Ayuto jumped from furniture to furniture, like a caged animal waiting to be set free.

Past experience had taught Leela to let Ayuto start the talking when he was in a mood. She sat in the middle of the room until Ayuto balanced on top of the backrest of a chair. He crouched on the backrest like a bird and said, "Sorry."

"We all messed up."

"That doesn't make me feel better." His black hair fell in front of his eyes, but he didn't bother to sweep it aside. His normally languid voice was now sharp and brittle as a shard of glass.

"You can't go into a fight angry." Leela said.

"Watch me." He jumped onto the floor and paced catlike across the room. Leela had always teased him about his height, but his hunched shoulders made him look like a predator.

Leela grabbed his shoulders and held him in place. "Stop it. We all messed up. But we need you in good condition for the rematch. So if you have to be angry, be angry later."

Ayuto's face softened as he met Leela's determined gaze. He sighed and said, "Do you feel ready?"

"We wounded the Possessor once before, and now—"

"No, I mean, after this."

Leela nodded automatically. "We have enough training for what's next."

"Sure." Ayuto said. "We can barely kill Heartless in Agrabah, how are we going to do it in the Realm of Darkness?" He shook his head. "I've prepared myself for the _I told you so_ spiel from Kayla and Cindy."

"You know they'd never be that petty." Leela held his stare before he conceded the point.

"They're going to do great things one day." Ayuto said. "They're annoying, but you can almost see the righteousness oozing from their bodies. I can see them as Keyblade Masters already."

Leela laughed. "And us?" She rested her head on his shoulder and toyed with his hand.

He absently rubbed the back of her neck, and she closed her eyes in satisfaction. "It takes a stretch." he admitted. "Not every journeyman becomes a master. Some people just wander the worlds, travel from one city to another."

"You don't want to go home?" Leela asked.

Ayuto's hand fell still. "It's hard to imagine. Maybe. I'll see how my brother and sister are doing. If they need me."

"But what do you want?" Leela asked.

Ayuto paused before wrapping his arm around Leela's waist. "Right now I've got all I want."

Leela couldn't help but smile, even though she knew he was changing the subject. She let herself enjoy the comfortable silence between them, before her stomach grumbled and the moment was broken.

They both laughed and Leela held up one of the tins of stew she had brought from the basement. "Have you eaten lunch?"

Ayuto screwed up his face. "Looks delicious as sand."

"More for me." Leela said. She opened the can and poured brown goop into her mouth. Some of it trickled down her chin. Through a mouthful of gunk, she said. "De'icious." It was stodgy and salty, and the meat inside was tougher than wood, but it was a welcome meal after the fight and a morning of salvaging supplies from buildings on the verge of caving in.

She offered the can to Ayuto, and they took turns pouring the stew into their mouths, giving their jaws a good exercise trying to chew on the meat and what felt like dried yams. After finishing, Leela washed it down with several gulps of water and asked, "Should we check up on Jean?" Jean had holed up in a different building after gathering supplies, insisting he needed to be alone for a few hours. The others had been too tired to argue.

"He'll be fine." Ayuto said. "He always gets in these moods."

"First time I've seen them."

"Well, he's gotten better since we became seniors. But remember how he was always sulking when we were juniors?"

Leela sighed. "I just don't want him beating himself up. We can't have that when we face the Possessor again."

"We can go pay him a visit, see if he's still sleeping." Ayuto grunted and stood up, rubbing his stiff muscles. As he was helping Leela up, the door creaked open and Jean walked in. "Good, are the others up?"

"Don't think so." Leela said. She started to ask him how he was doing, but he brushed past her. Next to Ayuto, he looked thin and weathered.

"I've been putting together a sled from the broken wood." Jean said. "If we can find rope, we can take turns pulling it across the sand."

"Have you been sleeping?" Ayuto frowned.

"Yes." Jean said with finality, before quickly walking to the basement to wake Cindy and Kayla.

The sled outside was made of broken planks and lashed together with twine. "These look woven from camel tail." Leela tugged at the sled and wondered how far they could drag it. She looked up at Ayuto, who was leaning against the doorframe. "Still think he's fine?"

"What can we do?" Ayuto replied. "He'll cool off by the time we get to the next town."

Cindy, Kayla, and Jean emerged from the house with their supplies. The sled creaked as they loaded the sled. Ayuto tugged the cords experimentally and said, "It's lighter than I thought."

"We'll take turns dragging it." Jean said. "Are we ready?"

"We should eat." Kayla thrust a can of stew into Jean's hand before he could protest.

The meal didn't take long, and the five of them set out shortly. More than ever, the desert's vastness pressed in on Leela. They walked along a stony plateau littered with sharp gravel that bit through their shoes. Distant rock formations, eroded by centuries of wind, looked alien in the dim light. The sled clattered along the minute pieces of gravel, but still stayed intact, despite Leela's misgivings. As they proceeded, the wind picked up, carving its way through the desert and whistling through the huge rocks like an aimless animal. The stars offered little comfort, as the dust and sand, carried by the wind, whipped at their exposed skin.

They should have noticed it sooner. They would have if not for the scraping of their sled and the gravel crunching beneath their feet. They were walking beneath a ridge of sandstone when the ground trembled. It was a deep vibration, like mountains grinding against each other. Then a boulder hurtled towards Leela out of nowhere. She tried to twist away but was too slow and her vision flashed white with pain as the boulder grazed her ribs, sending her flying away. She gasped for breath through cracked ribs. She felt dizzy, and she saw double images of the boulder unfurling itself and turning around. Her arm shook, but she still raised her Keyblade against the Possessor. This body only had four legs and was built like a boar. Darkness seeped like pus out of the cracks in its granite skin, and its eyes glowed a bright amber with malice.

It charged again, but before it got far, Kayla shot forwards. Her fist glowed with crimson energy and she punched the mass of stone, sending it skidding back. Cindy leaped above the both of them and tried to plunge her spear into the exposed flesh, but the Possessor darted away. Cindy's spear only grazed its armour, and it ran around them in a circle, churning up gravel in its wake.

Jean peppered its skin with a volley of arrows, chipping off bits of its skin, but the Possessor didn't slow down. He, Kayla and Cindy formed a protective ring around Leela and backed against the sandstone ridge. Ayuto already perched on top, and his muscles were coiled tightly, ready to spring into action. Kayla didn't look up as she yelled, "Don't you dare!"

Ayuto's reply went unheard as the Possessor squealed and charged towards them. Kayla darted away and lunged for the beast's side. It swung its head and brushed Kayla aside. The air around crackled as Jean charged an arrow with lightning. With a quiet roar, the arrow flew towards the Possessor. Once again, it shook its head, and the arrow only blew off more chunks of rock near its neck. As it grew nearer, Leela cast a Blizzara spell to form an icicle, shooting it into the Heartless. It lodged itself in the Possessor's forehead like a horn, making it falter. Cindy jabbed at the boar, giving Jean time to grab Leela and run away.

Biting back a hiss of pain, Leela flung more icicles at the beast. Some bounced off, but others pierced past its armor of stone. It turned, torn between hunting Leela or Cindy, who was still stabbing at the weaknesses in its armour. But while it hesitated, Kayla had climbed up the sandstone slab and fell, plunging her fist into the beast's back. While it lay prone on the ground, Cindy's spear tore at its back legs while Kayla clung to its back continued hammering at it. The beast spun around, sending Kayla flying off its back and tumbling across the plateau. With Cindy stabbing at its legs, it floundered, allowing more of Jean's arrows to tear off its skin. Cindy mounted the Possessor, using her spearhead like a shortsword. She rammed it into the open wounds Kayla had left in its hide, tearing into the Possessor's purple flesh, and flecking her face with spots of liquid darkness. The Possessor tried to shake her off, but she plunged her spear deep into the Heartless and held on, her teeth bared in a grimace.

Along with Jean and Leela's continuous barrage, Cindy proved too much for the Possessor. It shuddered and collapsed. A dark blob quivered into the sky leaving a small pile of rocks on the ground. Now Ayuto shot up and wrestled with it midair. He yelled as he plunged his daggers into the Possessor again and again. He released the tension building in him as he slashed at their foe. It screeched and tried to fly in different directions, but Ayuto kept himself aloft with a gale that sent dust flying in all directions. Finally, it quivered in the air for a moment before dissipating into vapor with one last squeal.

Leela let out a deep breath, then winced as she remembered her ribs were broken. She held her hand over it and cast a Cura spell. Her chest tickled as her bones knit back together. With luck, she would only be left with bruises. "Is it over?" Leela asked.

"I think so." Ayuto said. He grinned, and his joy was contagious. Leela started to laugh before she was forced to stop by the pain in her sides. Ayuto looked up at Kayla, who was muttering to herself. "You okay?"

"Broke a finger. Amateur move, haven't done it in years."

"If there was a time to punch too hard, this would be it." Ayuto said. Jean and Cindy made their way over and sat down.

Kayla shook her head. "I just got too excited and punched wrong."

"Do we need to return to Agrabah?" Ayuto tactfully changed the subject. "Because I'm not sure if we could carry enough water for that."

Cindy said, "I don't remember Master mentioning anything like a return point."

"Would have been good to tell us." Ayuto said.

"It would have been better to ask." A quiet voice they all recognized said. Their Master, along with all their camels, emerged from behind a pile of rubble.

"Master Keaton." Cindy said. "Have you been with us the whole time?"

Keaton shook his head. "I was at the Mysterious Tower until the battle here started. I used a scrying crystal to watch you five." He regarded the ruined town around him and said, "So. How do you think you did?"

The five of them studied the ground. Keaton let the awkward silence continue for almost a minute before he said, "Jean, why don't you start."

"We defeated the Heartless." Jean rubbed the scar on his cheek. "There were," He grimaced, "Logistical complications. But if the purpose of the mission was to defeat the Heartless, we completed it."

Keaton nodded. "What else?"

There was another silence. Then Ayuto sighed and said. "I let the Heartless get away the first time."

Keaton nodded. "As Jean said, there were logistical complications. Not drinking water, not taking care of your supplies, among other things. These things are important, even if they go unnoticed by the untrained."

"During your first encounter, you could have used the Heartless' bulk against it. Leela and Cindy got cornered in the streets, and that should never happen given how slow the Heartless is. Running underneath the beast would have been most effective." Keaton paused before saying, "Yet the most problematic encounter was the second. Everyone expected the Heartless to materialize in a town. As if it would play to a script you had written in your heads."

"Never think there is a place the Heartless cannot attack." Keaton's voice grew strident, and it was clear he was talking of more than the mission. "If you ever doubt this, visit the ruins of Disney Castle, or the badlands of Enchanted Dominion. Talk to the few who watched the Reaver destroy a world. Keyblade Wielders should never be afraid, but should be constantly vigilant."

They all nodded, and Keaton directed his gaze at Jean. "And there is a difference between bottled-up anger and vigilance."

Jean hung his head, and Keaton said, "Your first failure angered you, and the mission became centered around revenge. Had the Possessor been stronger, or faster, its ambush could have been successful."

He walked closer to them, and his blue eyes burned as he looked at each of them. "Each one of us has a duty as Keyblade Wielder to lay our life down against the onslaught of Heartless, but what you did was suicide. A meaningless sacrifice means nothing."

Keaton sighed. "But you also did kill a formidable Heartless, and battle plans are difficult to improvise. You also persevered despite failing once to capture it, and gathered resources to travel on foot." The apprentices jerked their heads up in hope, Keaton's reprimand firmly in the past. "This makes my decision harder, and I need more time to decide. We head back to Agrabah, and I'll let you know when we return."

Leela gulped down half a water bottle's worth of water. Even though it was night, the fight had left her parched and her muscles aching. The camel ride back already felt painful. But she smiled at Cindy, hoping she seemed confident of their success, and followed Keaton back to Agrabah.

* * *

 **Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay. This chapter's shorter but also went through rewrites, and I'm still not sure how it turned out. As always, feedback is always welcome. Hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4

The juniors didn't even try to be subtle. A few peeked out of windows overlooking the main courtyard, while Zhao and his friend leaned against one of the pillars lining the courtyard and pretended to have a conversation. While Leela fidgeted under the drab archway of the main entrance, Keaton raised his voice so all the juniors could hear and said, "You'll find out what my decision has been after the seniors have eaten. Did Major Ahmed give you dinner?"

Zhao had the decency to look embarrassed as he said, "We've eaten. Have the senior apprentices?"

Keaton shook his head. "The seniors have leftover supplies they can finish."

Ayuto let out a soft groan, though he made sure Keaton didn't hear. Kayla motioned to the kitchen and they filed in, dropped their packs on the floor, and rummaged around for the bundles of rice and preserved sausages they had left. It was the same austere room they had eaten in a week ago, with the battered hardwood table, steel basins, and scratched stools that would give them splinters if they were careless. But it was swept clear of sand, and the half-stocked cupboards reminded Leela that she wasn't in the middle of a ghost town ravaged by Heartless years ago.

"Good to be back." Ayuto said. Leela nodded, glad that she could spend a night in a bed. Killing the Possessor had put him in a good mood the entire trip back, and even Kayla's usual death glare hadn't been enough to silence him on the trip back. "Never knew running water could taste so good."

Leela couldn't help but feel less nervous when he smiled at her. The others didn't share his good humour and nibbled at their food, the outcome of their exam weighing heavily on their mind. It was only when Keaton entered that they looked up from the table. They sat straighter as Keaton shut the door behind them.

Never one for ceremony or drama, Keaton simply said, "You pass."

Ayuto and Kayla punched the air. Ayuto laughed out loud while Kayla settled down, looking embarrassed at her outburst. Jean took a deep breath at the good news, and trembled for several seconds. Leela yelled, "Yes!" and turned to Cindy, whose inscrutable face still watched Keaton.

He nodded and said, "As you know, Journeymen are required to serve for a year in the Realm of Darkness. After that, they are free to choose their own paths." He paused, and only then did it occur to Leela that Keaton was at a loss for words. It was disquieting. Finally he said, "I will escort you to the Realm of Darkness tomorrow afternoon. It has been my honor to watch you grow from children to soldiers. I thank light for the opportunity."

Kayla wiped a tear from her cheek, strode to Keaton and thrust her hand out. Keaton inspected it with confusion before he realized that Kayla was asking for a handshake. He quickly shook her hand, and Kayla said, "The honor was mine." She then sniffed and walked out.

Jean followed her lead and shook Keaton's hand. When he opened his mouth, Keaton interrupted him, "Don't apologize for the mission. You passed. Now learn from it."

Jean smiled and left. Ayuto took a deep breath and walked up to Keaton. He held up his hand and watched Keaton warily. Keaton laughed and grasped Ayuto's hand. "We have had our issues, but I hope it helped you."

"We'll have to see." Ayuto laughed. "See you soon." He turned to Leela and asked, "Later?"

Leela blushed but nodded, and Ayuto left her with Cindy and Keaton. Keaton lowered his hand and shut the door. "I suppose the two of you want to know what I was talking about the night before your exam."

"How did you know we were there?" Leela asked.

"Once you become more attuned to the light and darkness in your surroundings, you'll be able to notice when two Hearts filled with light appear on the roof above you." Keaton sat down and rubbed his forehead. "But I do my best not to keep track of you. Anyways, I tried to be as clear as I could, given you could only hear half the conversation. Did you have any questions?"

"We normally get a week's leave." Cindy said, "But not now. A Princess of Heart died?"

Keaton nodded. "The Realm of Darkness can manage with just one Princess of Heart, but since Leela was taking her journeyman exam,"

"They wanted me." Leela said.

"Regardless of whether you were ready." Keaton nodded. "Grandmaster Nurudeen was never the patient type."

"But you think I'm ready?" Leela asked.

"Ready for what?" Keaton said. "You are ready to become a Journeyman. But to be a Princess of Heart that can wield a Keyblade, no one knows what to expect. But I'm sure," Keaton frowned, "that others have their own ideas of what to expect of you." He sighed. "You'll have to find out yourself."

"Thanks." Leela said. The joy of being a journeyman had passed, and only the prospect of serving on the Realm of Darkness remained.

"I've seen you grow, the both of you." Keaton said. "I'm sure you'll rise to whatever challenges you might face." He extended his hand to them.

They shook it. As they left, he shut the door behind them, and for some reason it was important to Leela not to look back. Cindy said, "No pressure?"

"I hate being a Princess of Heart." Leela said. "And there are zero benefits."

"You can channel more light through your body than any of us." Cindy said. "And who knows, maybe one day you'll have your own castle where you'll look after people and fill their Hearts with light."

Leela had visited queen Jasmine once, right after her family had learned she was a Keyblade Wielder. She had waited in line for hours in the sun behind hundreds of other supplicants hoping to be blessed by their own Princess of Heart. Leela had been let in the palace in the afternoon, and it was only as the sun set that Leela walked up to the queen of Agrabah.

She couldn't remember what the throne room, guards, ladies-in-waiting, or other supplicants looked like. Only the image of Jasmine remained, an old woman wrapped in a blue sari, smiling and stroking Leela's hair, and a feeling of peace and belonging that made Leela feel as if she could curl up and drift to sleep in the throne room.

She almost laughed at the image of people lining up to see her reclining on fine cushions, prostrating themselves or their child before her. "That's not going to happen. Anyways, Kairi never did any of that." She conveniently ignored the part where Kairi had died at sixteen.

They emerged in the courtyard, where Ayuto and Jean were trying to drown each other in the pool. Beside them, Kayla tried to look as dignified as she could and was vigorously scrubbing herself. Leela and Cindy shrugged off their clothes and slid in, and Leela basked in the feeling of a week's worth of dust and sand and sweat wash off and into the drain at the sides of the pool.

She closed her eyes and almost dozed off in the cool water, surrounded by the sounds of Ayuto and Jean splashing each other, and the chatter of Cindy and Kayla. She was wondering whether the juniors knew they had passed, when Ayuto tapped her shoulder. "Do you want to go upstairs?" He wore a shy grin on his face, and Leela giggled. "That sounds great."

Jean whistled as they got out, then grunted as Kayla punched him in the shoulder. Ayuto blushed and almost fell over pulling his trousers back on. Leela hated the feeling of putting dirty clothes back on, but all of them had left their supplies outside. She gingerly shuffled back into her clothes, comforting herself that it would only be for a short while.

After getting their packs from where they had dropped them in the stables, Leela and Ayuto headed upstairs, dropped their packs off in a corner, and exchanged a deep kiss. Leela closed her eyes and felt like she was drifting. Ayuto clutched at her shirt, and his eagerness made Leela giggle again.

"You okay?" Ayuto asked. He checked to make sure the door was shut.

"I'm fine." Leela said. "Is Jean going to come in any time soon?"

"He'll be fine sleeping with Kayla and Cindy." Ayuto said. He cocked his head and said, "You seem quiet."

Keaton's face, twisted with worry, loomed large in Leela's mind. But Ayuto was stroking Leela's back, between her shoulderblades, and Keaton's face was replaced by Ayuto's round one, somehow bright despite the darkness in their bedroom. She grinned, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pulled him down to his bed.

* * *

"Leela?" Zhao's tentative voice was one of the only sounds that could have pulled Leela from underneath Ayuto's arm. It was with enormous effort that she lifted her head and murmured, "What?"

"We have a surprise for you on the roof." Zhao had poked her head into the room. "Us juniors. I'm sorry if we're disturbing you."

"No, not at all. Have you woken the others up?"

Zhao cleared her throat and said, "We thought we'd give you and Ayuto more time to get up."

Leela laughed. "Maybe you're right. It'll be hell getting Ayuto out. Go wake up the others."

She propped herself up with her arms and looked at Ayuto's sleeping figure. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of his mussed hair and a small puddle of drool that had gathered on the pillow. She let herself recline in his loose grip for several more seconds before she shook him and said, "Wake up. The juniors have a surprise for us."

Ayuto groaned and tried to go back to sleep. The prospect of the juniors eagerly awaiting them clearly didn't phase Ayuto.

Leela whipped their blanket away and shook him again.

"Why don't they let us sleep?" Ayuto muttered.

"Because we might not ever see each other again."

Ayuto groaned. "Might be a good thing. At least there won't be anyone stealing my food."

"You're the last person to judge people for stealing." Leela yanked him off the bed, and he tumbled onto the ground with a yelp. "Please?"

"I'm asleep."

Her shoulders were stiff and her ribs still hurt after the exam. Dragging Ayuto out of the room wasn't an option. She gently kicked him in the ribs, where she knew he was ticklish. He squirmed away with a whine that had always infuriated Kayla, but Leela found endearing. She poked him again and he batted her leg away.

"Why do the juniors do this to us?" Ayuto asked to no one in particular. "We didn't do this to Nguyen and the others when we were juniors."

"So they're better juniors than we were." Leela lit the oil lamp in the room and rooted through her pack for clean clothes, deliberately making as much noise as she could. "Who knows how many of us might die in the Realm of Darkness. If we left and never saw them again, it'd be like abandoning them."

Ayuto didn't say anything, and Leela pushed her advantage. "We can't just run away. They should get to say goodbye."

Ayuto was silent for several seconds, and Leela was afraid she had hit too close to home. Ayuto gave a flat laugh. "Ouch. Right for the childhood memories." Then he sat up and rummaged around for clean clothes.

"Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said that." Leela said.

Ayuto gave her a wistful smile and squeezed her arm. "No, you were right. Let's meet the juniors."

Leela tried to apologize again, but Ayuto was out of the room before she could say anything.

They were the last ones on the roof. The juniors were chattering with Cindy, while Jean and Kayla sat on the edge, staring at the maze of houses and walkways that connected their roofs. Jean turned as they came up the stairs and said, "Look who finally decided to show up."

"Don't act smug, I'll bet Cindy had to drag you up here too." Ayuto was still bleary-eyed, but he tried to look as awake as he could.

Zhao cleared his throat and all the juniors chorused, "Happy birthday, Cindy!"

From behind his back, Zhao took out a small potted plant and handed it to Cindy, who had cupped her mouth in her hands and was grinning from ear to ear. "It can grow in the Realm of Darkness. At least, that's what the vendor said. We're not sure how true it was."

The plant's thin stem was dark green and lined with veins that glimmered with a blue light. Cindy's eyes were damp, and she stroked the leaves one by one, her touch as light as if they were made of parchment. "You guys are amazing."

"Much better than us." Leela added. "We never even thought of doing this when we were juniors."

One of the juniors piped up, "You all deserve it."

"Except for Jean." Zhao added, and even Jean burst into laughter.

"I'll take that." he said.

One of the juniors sidled up to Leela and asked, "So what happens now? Is Keaton going to find new juniors now?"

"He'll wait until you guys are seniors." Leela said. "Eager to have new apprentices?"

"Don't be." Ayuto said. "They're annoying, underfoot, and you'll want to kill them before the month is out."

"Oh don't worry, the feeling's mutual." Zhao shot back. Another apprentice, Sasha, turned to Leela and asked, "How long did it take for you to manifest your Keyblade?"

Leela thought for a moment. "I actually manifested it a few weeks before our seniors graduated." Sasha's shoulders sagged, and she added, "But Ayuto manifested his almost two months later."

Sasha summoned her Keyblade, still in the form of the ancient Kingdom Key, and said, "And it just changes shape?"

"It grows into its true form." Cindy said. "Being a senior doesn't just mean being in good condition, or knowing how to kill Heartless. Your Heart needs to show maturity and strength to manifest a Keyblade."

"No wonder Ayuto took so long." Jean interjected.

Cindy ignored him and lay a hand on Sasha's, whose brow was still wrinkled in confusion. "You need to be in touch with the Keyblade. Your Heart needs to be tranquil and still." Ayuto snorted and Cindy glanced back at him. "Or else you'll end up like this guy and be the last to manifest."

Sasha giggled as Cindy continued. "Your Heart knows what it wants. And the Keyblade wants to give that to you. Once you're familiar with your Keyblade, once you know exactly how it feels in your hand, once you know the sounds it makes when it falls into your palm, it will reach out to your Heart and become what it was always meant to be."

Everyone, even Ayuto, was riveted by Cindy's soft voice. Sasha asked, "What's that?"

Cindy uttered a laugh of pure joy, and said, "A Keyblade, of course."

Zhao started to say something, but his words were interrupted by a huge yawn. He grinned sheepishly as Cindy said, "And you guys should be getting some rest."

The juniors filed downstairs, closely followed by Jean and Kayla. Ayuto glanced at Leela, who said, "I'll see you in a bit."

Cindy sat crosslegged on the roof, its surface smoothed by years of sandstorms. She clasped the small plant and studied it with a smile on her face. Cindy had always been able to lose herself in the littlest things, as if her eyes the color of burnt umber saw something no one else did. Leela didn't want to break the spell, wanted to keep on watching the way Cindy's fingers delicately toyed with the luminescent leaves, wanted to study the way moonlight fell across Cindy's angular face. But Cindy looked up and said, "What's up?"

"What you told Sasha, that was really cool."

"I spoke from the heart." Cindy paused before saying, "I'll miss them."

"Same." Leela wanted to say something spiritual or deep, some meaningful monologue like Cindy had just done to Sasha. But words failed her, and she contented herself by sitting next to Cindy in silence.

"I hope this does grow in the Realm of Darkness." Cindy said.

"If we can survive there, so can this thing." Leela said. "Maybe glowing plants are common."

"Maybe." Cindy stood up with the plant and headed back towards the stairs. "This was a good night. Get some sleep."

* * *

 **Hey, sorry for the delay. I got Dark Souls, so there's been a slight redistribution of priorities there. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed reading! As always, feel free to tell me what you thought.**


	5. Chapter 5

Keaton let them sleep in the next day, and it was only in the afternoon that all five of them woke up. Leela's heart pounded as she packed the few changes of clothes and keepsakes she could call hers. Her backpack felt even lighter than if they were going on a routine mission, because Keaton had told them not to bother packing any food. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the five of them lined up beneath the archways that surrounded the central courtyard. Leela rubbed her crusty eyes as Keaton inducted them as journeymen Keyblade Masters.

"Your next step in defending the Realm of Light begins, and as journeymen you begin to forge your own path. During your six month term in the Realm of Darkness, you will learn everything we know about the Heartless, our natural enemy. After that, your path, your journey, is yours to choose. Whether you choose to stay and fight on the frontlines, serve as armorers or research new spells, or stay and protect the Realm of Light in a garrison, the choice is yours."

He summoned his Keyblade, a giant broadsword, and rested the tip on the clay tiles. "I, Keyblade Master Keaton, hereby bestow the titles of Keyblade Journeymen upon you five."

The five of them knelt and touched the tips of their Keyblades to their ground in a standard salute. A wave of light washed over them. When it faded, a gemstone the size and shape of a coin appeared in front of them. The mark of a journeyman.

Leela felt unchanged as she examined her token. It was a small emerald jewel with the Kingdom Key engraved on it. The anticlimax made Leela feel as if there should be something more than just a small stone to mark the occasion. She quickly glanced at the others. Kayla and Cindy were looking at the stones with something close to reverence. Jean had already slipped his into his pocket, while Ayuto ran the stone along his knuckles.

The air stilled. A portal of darkness, almost two metres tall, appeared behind Keaton. The inside twisted in patterns of purple and black as a tall figure in a black coat stepped out and walked towards them. As the figure approached, Keaton's eyes widened, and he fell into another salute.

Leela scrambled to follow Keaton's lead, but the tall figure waved his hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't bother." He was carrying a bundle of coats under his arm that he tossed to each of them. "Put the coats on, grab your things, and come with me."

Keaton nodded at them, and they unzipped the coats and tried to fit into them. Cindy and Kayla's were too long, and the sleeves passed well over their hands. The tall figure turned to Keaton and asked, "What year is it?"

Keaton told him, and the figure nodded. "Longer than I thought. Who was your master?"

"Alexandra." Keaton said.

"I remember her." The man said, "She was a fine Keyblade Wielder."

"She's the general of Traverse Town now." Keaton said.

"That makes me glad." The hint of a smile ghosted across the man's face before he turned to the former apprentices.

By now Leela and the others had struggled into their new clothing. The man looked them up and down and said, "You'll have time to get used to it." He turned to Leela, and the world fell away. She gasped as, from under his hood, two blue eyes loomed like twin suns. She felt the weight of past sorrows and joys so immense they seemed dwarfed her own. It was as if her chest had been pried open, and her Heart, with all her desires, lay on a table to be studied.

Then the feeling passed and faded so quickly Leela wasn't sure if it had really happened. Her friends were walking towards the portal, and she almost tripped over the hem of her cloak as she caught up with them.

As Leela pulled her hood up, she looked back at Keaton one last time before allowing the tall man to shepherd them through the portal. "Keep walking straight forward, and don't fall to the sides."

Leela wondered what he meant by that, but as she stepped inside, she was pulled in several directions, as if unseen phantoms clawed at her. The tall man glowed like a beacon, shining with unearthly white light that danced around him like a flame. She trudged forward, making sure his shoulders were in front of her. Ayuto stumbled behind her, and she grabbed his arm to make sure he stayed upright. He nodded and moved forwards with his head bowed down.

They tumbled onto wet sand. The memory of the struggle through the portal disappeared, like a dream, and Leela couldn't tell if she had been walking for half an hour or less than a second. The tall man had taken off his hood and inhaled deeply. He had thin lips, and bags hung around his blue eyes. His forehead was lined with wrinkles, and his silver hair was arranged in a crew cut. "The five of you are now in the Dark Meridian, the base of operations for the three established companies of Keyblade Wielders."

Leela pulled her hood back, and immediately felt her skin prickle from the amount of Darkness in the air. Breathing in the bitter air made her nose sting and head ache. She quickly pulled her hood back up and listened to their guide.

"The five of you will be assigned to the same company, but may be switched to others, either by your request or the request of the Company Commander."

"What if they conflict?" Ayuto asked.

"Then the matter will be settled by Grandmaster Nurudeen, who leads the second company." The man led them into the jungle, where they had to shove past vines and clamber over dead trees. Leela saw thorns covering the vines from the moonlight, but their cloaks never snagged on them.

The path was blocked by a shimmering barrier made of tesselating hexagons. Their guide pressed a hand against the barrier and said, "It's me."

"Up there." Jean pointed at a tree, whose leaves shook slightly, revealing two cloaked figures perched above them. Their hands glowed for a moment and created an opening in the barrier. It closed after they walked through, and the packed sand from the beach gave way to a dry kind of soil as they emerged into a clearing. Four small huts made of black stone sat in the middle, but the clearing was devoid of people.

Cindy cleared her throat and asked, "Do you command a company, master Riku?"

The others stared at her, then back to their guide. Jean did his best to hide his surprise, while Ayuto's mouth dropped in awe. "How did you know?" Leela whispered.

"Tall man, silver hair, blue eyes, old," Cindy counted the list off her fingers. "Wasn't it obvious?"

"I lead the third company." Riku said. "The first company is led by Queen Belle. They are charged with guarding our bases and outposts. The second company, led by Nurudeen, coordinates the assaults on major Heartless."

He had brought them to the edge of the clearing, where two people in black coats let Riku pass. One of them also had a shining bracelet.

Riku clambered up the side of a cave, walking ahead without looking back. The other five followed as fast as they could. Leela sent a few rocks tumbling down, and prayed no one minded. Kayla heaved herself up first, and helped the others up, before running after Riku.

They followed an overgrown trail, almost tripping over rocks and tree roots in the dim light, and caught up to Riku as he emerged into a second clearing. "The third company, which I command," he said, as if he hadn't just briefly abandoned the conversation, "is responsible for gathering intelligence: mapping the Realm of Darkness and recording the habits and locations of the Heartless here."

This clearing was larger than the first one, though huge trees lined the far side of the clearing instead of caves. The lowest branches of the trees were wide enough for three people to comfortably walk side by side on. On the highest branches, covered in shadow by thick leaves at the tree's crown, sat a large treehouse cradled between the huge branches.

"Are there ladders?" Ayuto asked.

"No." Riku replied. "The three companies are spread evenly between these two camps. For now the five of you will be in the third company."

A diminutive woman, one who only came up to Riku's shoulder, said, "Riku wants me to finish off the grand tour." She was walking beside them, as if she had been there all along. She had her hood down, revealing a prominent forehead and sharp cheekbones. "My name's Valentina, of the third company." She extended a hand to each of them, which she shook vigorously.

Leela and the others introduced themselves. Riku told Valentina, "Ensign should have been back by now. I'm going to see if anything's wrong." He disappeared into a dark portal before Leela and her friends could react.

"He's like that." Valentina led them to one of the trees. "He does it to impress the fresh meat." None of them spoke until they reached the trunk of the tree, which was as wide as a small house. She grinned at them with an impish glint in her grey eyes that seemed to belong to a woman half her age. "See you at the top."

She unfurled two chain whips from her sleeves, adorned with spikes in every link, and flung one into the branch above. She retracted the chain into her sleeve, and her chain pulled her up. At the same time, she cast her second chain to a higher branch, ascending even further. She fell into a rhythm, flinging one arm out after another, like a child climbing monkeybars.

"Great." Ayuto said. His hands and feet glowed with a silver light before he conjured a gust of wind that pushed him up to the first branch. He stumbled as he landed, but quickly summoned another gust to propel him further upwards.

Jean shot a green arrow that stuck to a branch twenty metres above. It yanked at him like a spring, and he shot upwards. Cindy cast a Haste spell on her, Kayla and Leela, before they started climbing up. There were enough handholds in the rough bark to make it easy. Kayla jumped from foothold to foothold, and yanked her way up, while Cindy seemed to defy gravity and practically ran up the trunk. Leela climbed more steadily, but was buzzing with energy and accelerated, getting into a rhythm.

She almost went too far up, but heard Ayuto and Jean talking and jumped onto the branch they stood on. Her arms trembled from the Haste spell and she felt the uncomfortable urge to keep on running. They stood below the giant treehouse, which seemed to dwarf them even more, now they were up close.

Valentina grinned and said, "Someone's got a rush. Don't Haste much?"

Leela realized she wasn't blinking, and quickly remedied that. "Keaton didn't want us abusing it."

"Keaton." Valentina rolled the name around in her mouth before shaking her head. "Don't know him. Who was his master?"

"Alexandra." Leela said.

Valentina laughed and once again looked much younger. "I only knew her for a few months, but she was quite a woman. Time's really flown."

"What was she like?" Cindy asked. Leela tried to imagine Keaton as an apprentice and failed.

"Like she had some higher purpose." Valentina said. "She really thought things could get better each day." She shrugged. "Broke my heart when she left to take apprentices."

She shook herself out of reminiscence and said, "But you didn't come here to listen to my old love life." She pulled at a string hanging from the treehouse floor that none of the others had noticed, which opened a trapdoor she jumped through.

"I guess providing a ladder would've actually been humane and sensible." Jean sighed. But the jump was short, and they entered the treehouse, though without Valentina's elegance.

Bunk beds filled the treehouse, lined up like those in a soldier's barracks. Valentina was lying on top of what must have been her bed, and said, "Find mattresses that don't have anything on it, and they're yours."

Many of the beds were unmade. Some had books piled underneath them, while others had pieces of armour and first aid supplies on their mattress. After much searching, the five of them conceded that they couldn't find five beds that were all together, and split up. Cindy and Leela shared an unused bunk, while Kayla got the bottom bed next to them. The top one had a grindstone and several mythril knives in the tangle of blankets, as well as grey underclothes with several holes that had been stitched back together with blue string.

"I can see that ending badly." Cindy said. "I hope this person has some sense."

"If they didn't, they'd be dead by now." Kayla said. They took off their bags and unpacked the few things Keaton had allowed them to bring. Leela had an opal necklace she never wore, and letters her sisters had written to her the first year of her apprenticeship.

It scared Leela that she couldn't remember how old they were. Hama had been two, or was it three, years younger than her, which would make her about thirteen, while Sanyar would be either nine or ten. It stung that Leela couldn't visit them in Agrabah, when she had been so close.

She piled her clothes underneath the bed and hung the necklace around the bed post. Thievery was clearly not a problem here, though she hoped Ayuto wouldn't test that theory. The three of them made their way to Valentina's bunk, where Ayuto and Jean were waiting. They had found bunks against the far wall.

"Does it get stuffy in here?" Kayla asked. "Would having windows really be that dangerous in the case of a Heartless assault?"

"We make do." Valentina said. "Besides, Nurudeen wouldn't want us to actually be comfortable." She deepened her voice and said, "It would make you soft." She then grinned and dropped through the trapdoor again. "I'll go show you the rest of the camp."

When they regrouped on the tree branch below, Valentina said, "Most people are away this time of the day, but you'll meet more soon."

"Day?" Ayuto asked, glancing at the night sky.

"Old habits die hard." Valentina laughed. She then jumped down and landed on the ground below, where she looked as small as a coin.

The five of them leapt down from branch to branch, and Ayuto's wind magic helped them float down the last several metres. He glanced up at Valentina and asked, "Whose idea was it to camp fifty metres above the ground?"

"When we first came to hunt the Reaver, we had to fight for this area. Situating ourselves in the caverns and in the trees made it safer than staying on the ground." Valentina said. "And I guess we decided to keep it that way."

She pointed out four more residential trees, then walked to the a hut made of obsidian and lined with runes for defense and strength. "This is the armory." Valentina said, "Most people wear something defensive under their black coats." She pointed at studded vests, reinforced greaves, and leather gauntlets.

Kayla's eyes gleamed and she brushed her hands over the edge of a buckler that had runes of protection carved into the side. "This is all light armour." She noted.

"There's heavier armour available in the caves." Valentina said. When the others looked at her in confusion she said, "The first camp you went through. But most people prefer speed and agility over defense. Even the strongest of us need to run away sometimes. And if a Forsaken swings its sword at you, metal plating will work just as well as cloth."

Another side of the armory was dedicated to armbands, necklaces, circlets, and other accessories that glowed with power. "Do we farm minerals from this land?" Ayuto asked. Jean , who had been fidgeting, perked up at the new topic of conversation."

"There's not enough to export." Valentina said, "But plenty for synthesis requirements. We have moogles who work here, though they're always difficult to find when you need them."

Next to the armory was the pantry, built with the same stone as the armory. Firewood underneath a tarp were stacked next to it.

Jean had already gone inside and was looking through the supplies, most of which were non perishable and looked unpalatable. "We're big fans of canned food, I see." He frowned and said, "Is this it? How often do we restock?"

"You'll find you don't need to eat much here." Valentina said, "No one really knows why, and our mages have bigger problems to be working on."

A soft, high note rang in Leela's head like a bell. Her Keyblade fell into her hand as she tried to find the source of the noise. Valentina gently pushed Leela's Keyblade down and said, "That's just the dinner bell."

"Dinner?" Leela said, "It was the early afternoon when we left."

"Time's weird here." Valentina said, "Our mages don't know why either."

A second note rang in Leela's head. This time a sharp clang, like cymbals crashing, echoed in Leela's head. Several portals flickered into view, and nine figures in black cloaks stumbled out. Riku was talking with the only other person who had his hood up. His shoulders were hunched and he walked in a loping gait that made him look animalistic. His sleeves were burnt off, exposing pale forearms coated with scars, while his ripped coat exposed an emaciated chest. "When I need help, I'll fucking ask for it."

"We're a team, Ensign, which means you always ask for help." A well built woman flung back her hood, revealing jet black hair that was matted with blood, which trickled down the side of her round face.

Ensign turned to Riku and said, "And we didn't need our company commander butting in. We could handle it."

"Like Kordell?" The woman with blood on her face planted herself in front of the man and the tree. She gestured at another figure in a black coat that let out high pitched moans as Keyblade masters with white bracelets surrounded him. Kordell's hand dangled at an impossible angle, attached only by a few sinews. Blood was still dripping into the ground, like ink soaking into parchment, while jagged bones popped out from ripe flesh.

Leela jerked her head away, and evened out her breathing. Her dinner from the night before threatened to eject itself, and throwing up would make the worst kind of impression. While she and the rest of her cohort were fighting their nausea, Ensign was still arguing while trying to push through to the clearing with caves. "My patrol's had worse." He glanced at the mutilation of his comrade before turning back to the tree. "That's what the healers for, isn't it?"

"We can't help you if you're dead." The woman was only getting started, but Riku put a hand on both of their shoulders. "I'll talk to Ensign. Make sure you and the rest of the patrol is fully healed."

"Sorry for the drama." Valentina smiled as if Kordell was invisible. "Ikabli and Ensign don't mix well."

"Will Kordell be okay?" Cindy's hand visibly trembled, and she stared at the members of the first company healing him.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Valentina said, "Healing magic can come in handy sometimes." She raised an eyebrow when no one laughed at the pun. "Tough crowd today, huh?"

Other people in black coats, a few with luminescent bracelets above their sleeves, attended to the returning party's other injuries. The other woman who had been berating Ensign stalked towards Valentina. "You called it, Val. Screw Ensign." She had dark skin the color of rich earth, with a round face and frizzy hair that flopped back and forth as she paced in front of Valentina.

"He does his job." Valentina sighed, before pulling the woman into a hug. "I missed you, Ikabli."

Ikabli smiled and stroked Valentina's hair. "You too." She straightened herself and turned towards Leela. "They the new ones?"

"Keaton's apprentices."

"Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while." Ikabli looked them up and down with renewed interest. "He was a thirteen year old junior last time I saw him, trying to be a tough old man."

"You had the same master?" Cindy asked, and her forehead wrinkled as she tried to keep track of all the different connections.

"My master and Keaton's master collaborated on a few missions." Ikabli said, "They could have been in the same cohort. But enough of the past, I'm hungry."

"The firsts have got something hot down by the caves." Valentina said, "The bell rang just before you got here."

"I'll meet you there." Ikabli rolled her shoulder and said, "Some Veil Lizard ambushed me and I should get it checked, make sure I don't drop from the poison. I'll meet you there."

Valentina led them through the overgrown path to the first clearing lined with caverns. Just like she had promised, steaming pots of stew sat in the middle of the clearing, with tin bowls and cutlery laid out beside the simmering fire.

The pots were of the exact kind that Keaton would bring on longer missions. Leela could almost imagine him standing behind them, showing them how to butcher a deer, or making sure the dishes were clean. The juniors would always be chattering, chasing each other with boundless energy.

"I'm going to see how Ikabli's doing." Valentina said. "You guys eat first." She returned to the treehouses, dodging past other masters and journeymen who were enticed by the food.

The five of them filled their pots with stew and sat by the edge of the clearing. It was slightly burnt, but that wasn't why the five of them didn't have appetites. Ayuto grimaced as he took another gulp and said, "That was fun."

"We knew it was dangerous." Cindy said.

"It sounded like Ensign made some mistake." Jean said. "If we're smart, we should be able to avoid amputation."

He glanced at the other figures in black coats, a few of which had their hoods down. "Nobody else seems to be missing limbs."

"Maybe that's because anyone who gets disemboweled is sent back." Ayuto laughed.

The five of them fell into silence again. Kayla was the only one steadily eating her food and said, "You should still eat. We'll need all the energy we can get."

Jean sighed. "We might as well get used to it." He screwed up his face and started forcing food into his mouth. Cindy shook her head and furtively dumped her food in the bushes behind them. Leela and Ayuto followed suit.

Leela felt Ayuto's arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into him. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine, just for a moment, that they were still in the Realm of Light.

Later, when Cindy, Jean and Kayla had returned to the treehouse, Ayuto whispered, "Are we good?"

"Yeah, of course." Leela looked up at him and threaded her fingers through his. The hood hid most of his face, but the tightness in his grip spoke volumes. "What's up?"

"We just haven't hung out that much in the last few weeks." Ayuto folded his leg so his chin rested on his knee. "We're not..."

"Hey, I get it." Leela said. "I won't go away."

"I never said that."

"I know." Leela said. "Look, it was difficult to get free time right before our journeyman exam, and it's only going to get harder now we're here. But we're good."

She looked Ayuto in the eye and held his gaze until he nodded. "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Always." Leela said.

He did his best to smile and said, "It's been a day. We're going to need some rest if we want to keep up with these masters."

As he rose to his feet, his boyish face poked out from the hood, and he looked like a child trying on a man's overcoat. Leela wondered how she must look, a Princess of Heart in against a wave of Heartless, playing the role of a saviour. The memory of Kordell's dangling hand forced itself into Leela's mind. She prayed that she and Ayuto would be spared such pain and followed Ayuto back to the treehouse.

* * *

 **Sorry for the big delay! I just started college and it's been really hectic. Hope you enjoyed reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Cindy's eyes jerked open and her heart rammed a syncopated rhythm against her chest. She heard only slow breathing of the other occupants in the treehouse, whose outlines she started to discern as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Nothing was wrong, she told herself, just her lightdamned anxiety.

"You are safe," Cindy whispered. "You're in the Realm of Darkness, and you're surrounded by Keyblade Masters."

She repeated that five times, and afterwards didn't feel like she was in battle. In a way she missed fighting. At least when she was about to be engulfed in flame by a Red Nocturne, there was a good reason for her stomach to tighten itself into three different knots. But now, it was just stupid.

She knew from experience she wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon. Sighing, she climbed down from the top bunk and tiptoed through the treehouse towards the trapdoor that led outside. She treaded as quietly as she could, but still heard people stirring as she passed. Some of them muttered in their sleep, while others twitched and clenched at bedsheets. She forced herself to ignore them and lowered herself out of the treehouse. She couldn't help them. She could barely help herself.

Cindy walked down a tree branch until it bounced beneath her with each step she took. She curled her bare foot around the bark and balanced there, smiling at the gentle rhythm the branch made. While she bobbed up and down, she looked up and was greeted by an empty sky that merged with the forest below.

Leaves rustled behind her and interrupted the rhythm of her swaying branch. She crouched and sought out the disturbance. It came in a slight figure that emerged from below and sat beside her. His hood was down, revealing deep brown skin the color of ochre, and hair tied in dreadlocks that fell to his shoulders. He said nothing as Cindy stared at him, letting her take him in.

Eventually, Cindy asked, "Am I bothering you?"

"Not at all," he said. "I didn't know if you wanted to be alone."

"We can talk." Cindy sat down and let her legs dangle in the air. "My name's Cindy."

"Kordell, third company." He held out his hand while a jolt of surprise shot through Cindy. She stared at his wrist, where a scar wrapped around it like a shackle. He laughed and said, "I guess you saw the spectacle yesterday?"

Cindy nodded. Her heart was beating erratically again. Kordell was fine, she told herself, and Kordell didn't need some anyone treating him like an invalid, especially not a frightened, flighty apprentice.

A journeyman, she corrected herself, she was a journeyman. She was proud to see her hand wasn't trembling as she took Kordell's hand and firmly shook it. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"You get used to it." Kordell rolled his wrist, causing it to click and the puckered skin to stretch. "You only just got here?"

"Today," Cindy said. "You?" Her friends wouldn't become him. Leela would never see someone lose a limb and act like it was a poison ivy rash. Kayla never failed to yell at anyone of them for being foolhardy, and would protect them until the end. They had to keep that here.

"I'm not sure." Kordell said. "Maybe thirteen months? Definitely more than a year, because some of my cohort left, but no more than two." He thought longer before shrugging.

"Why stay?" Cindy asked. "A place where the light never shines, and you get torn apart all day?"

"First of all, that was only the third time I almost lost a limb, and the first time barely counts because it was a group of Invisibles, and what can you do." Kordell held up a finger in reproach. "Secondly, you get used to it. It feels empowering sometimes, to know that I could get stabbed in the stomach and be fine."

"Do you fear death?"

"Not really," Kordell said without hesitation. "I just hope it doesn't hurt much."

Part of Cindy screamed that she was prying, that no one wanted to spend their night answering philosophical questions about themselves. But Kordell's implacable smile aroused a curiosity in her, like a dilemma she had to resolve to stop her head from running circles inside her.

She took a deep breath and asked, "What do you fear?"

"I can't think of anything off the top of my head." Kordell said. He chuckled and said, "I guess there's someone I like. Head over heels for him when I first got here, but I've learnt to tone it down."

"You wouldn't want to lose him?"

"I guess I wouldn't know what to do without him. This place would just be so different." Kordell laughed harder. "It's funny because—" He sighed and said, "Maybe another time."

"Of course." Cindy nodded. "And I'm sorry if I pressed too hard."

"Not at all." Kordell said. "When your life expectancy drops by twenty years, subtlety is something you learn to get rid of." He stood up and said, "But I should try and sleep. Seems like you should do the same."

Cindy nodded, and he slid off the branch, skidding down the tree trunk until he disappeared into the darkness. Cindy was baffled for a second before remembering the caverns Valentina had mentioned. They no doubt housed people, just like the treehouse.

She sat on the branch for several more minutes before heading back in. The inside of the treehouse seemed like a different world. Silence had reigned outside, whereas inside, people murmured and shuffled about in their bed. The slightly bitter smell of darkness was overpowered by the musty odor of clothes and the scent of oil.

Cindy tiptoed back to her bunk, and spent a second gazing at Leela sleeping without stirring, as if she were in the Realm of Light. Wishing she could sleep as easily as Leela could, she curled up in the blanket provided to her, and tried to ignore the way the fabric scratched and tickled her cheek.

She dreamt she was outside with Kordell again. But he grew and grew until his teeth became polished graves, and his body was ploughed soil in the farm Cindy had grown up in. Cabbages and turnips and beans sprouted out of the earth, growing to incredible size, even by Dwarf Woodlands standards. She glanced around, but her family was gone. No father and children planting the fields and watering the chickens, no mother sewing clothes to shield them from the winter, only shattered scythes and crops that grew and grew and grew.

A figure loomed in the distance. As the land seemed to overrun her, Cindy saw a faceless figure in Snow White's regalia glide towards her; yellow dress fluttering around the queen's dainty toes, and black hair flowing like spilled ink. The figure settled in front of Cindy and offered her an apple. When Cindy shook her head, the figure grinned and the shadows fled from its face, revealing Leela grinning at her.

With her mouth agape, Cindy watched Leela take a bite out of the apple, and dribbled blood that trickled down her chin and sank into the silk clothing. Leela raised both hands and said, " _I don't need you."_

"I never said that," Cindy yelled.

" _I'm a Princess of Heart."_ Leela smiled as she crushed the apple and drops of blood clung to Cindy's cheek like leeches. " _I have the power to stop the darkness. I can do anything."_

Cindy opened her mouth, but as she breathed in, two chimes of a bell pierced her mind, and she jerked awake. She steadied her breathing and waited for her trembling to subside while she lay in patches of her own sweat. Other soldiers were preparing themselves. The rustling of clothes over skin and the tread of boot on floor gave Cindy something to focus on. She took a deep breath and tumbled out of bed.

She had gone to sleep in a leather vest and shorts that she had claimed from the inventory, and all she needed to do was grab her black coat and zip it up. Leela was still sleeping with her mouth ajar. Cindy let herself stare for a second before gently shaking Leela awake. This was Leela. It seemed foolish that Cindy needed to remind herself that Leela was the girl that learnt how to backflip simply to cheer up a homesick Sasha.

"I heard the bell, don't worry." Leela yawned and jumped out of bed. "Alright, ready to kick some Heartless butt?"

Cindy smiled and said, "Hopefully. Let's get dressed first."

She glanced over at Kayla's bed and was unsurprised to see it was vacated and the bed was made. Leela yawned again and started throwing on clothes similar to Cindy. They were rolling up their too-big sleeves when Valentina tapped Cindy on the shoulder. Cindy tried to hide how startled she was. She could have sworn she hadn't heard anything.

"Riku's waiting at the bottom of the tree." Valentina said, with her black coat tucked under her arm. "We get to go on a field trip."

"Are you coming too?" Cindy asked.

"I am," Valentina grinned at them. "And you wouldn't want to keep me waiting, would you?" She winked at them and said, "Meet downstairs in fifteen minutes and you guys will be briefed."

"What kind of mission is it?" Cindy asked. "How long will we be gone?"

"You'll find out soon," Valentina smiled. "I'm going to check on the boys."

Cindy sighed as Valentina leapt onto the top bunks and jumped to where Ayuto and Jean were sleeping. She rolled her eyes at Leela and said, "Would it kill her to just tell us now?"

"Some people are like that." Leela slung an arm around Cindy's shoulder. "She's not trying to put you on edge."

"I know, I know." The two of them made their way to the exit and hopped down from branch to branch. The tree was illuminated by several balls of light that hung in the air, courtesy of the other Keyblade Wielders. It was only now that Cindy comprehended the enormity of the tree. She had thought the desert was vast, but the Realm of Darkness felt unforgiving, like it had been made for Heartless only, and each human was a trespasser.

Kayla was waiting for them at the bottom. Leela gave her a courtesy hug and asked, "How did you get down before the rest of us?"

"I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep," Kayla replied. "Any idea what a 'field trip' means?"

"It means you get to spend some quality time with yours truly." Valentina dropped from above them and hit the floor with a smack, though she seemed fine. "And a few others from the third company."

"But what are we actually doing?" Cindy was confident that none of her exasperation leaked through. But why did Valentina attempt to be dramatic?

Before Valentina could answer, Ikabli darted from the nearby jungle and said in a low voice, "Belle's coming."

Cindy grinned in anticipation at Leela, who gulped and twisted her hair between her fingers. But her smile faded when Valentina's eyes narrowed and said, "Find Riku. Now."

"What's wrong?" Cindy asked, as Ikabli walked away.

"Doesn't matter." Valentina smiled again. "Just some bureaucracy. Can't escape it, not even here."

"The companies don't get along, do they," Kayla's eyes narrowed. "Belle leads the first company, right?"

Ayuto and Jean fell from above. Jean turned to Kayla and said, "There are people approaching. They don't look happy."

"Apparently there's friction between the companies that Riku forgot to mention." Kayla raised an eyebrow at Valentina, who maintained her smile.

Before Valentina could reply, a plump woman with brown hair that disappeared under her black coat strode towards Valentina. "Master Martinez, I hope today finds your company well."

Cindy did a double take before realizing the plump woman had used Valentina's last name to refer to her. Valentina placed both hands behind her back and nodded. "So do I, your majesty."

"And you must be Keaton's apprentices." Belle beamed at Cindy and her friends, and Cindy couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth rush through her. Belle shook each of their hands in turn, and lingered on Leela. "I wish our meeting could have been under better circumstances, your grace."

"Leela's fine." Leela visibly cringed, and Cindy grasped her hand for support. Leela gratefully linked her fingers through Cindy's as she said, "And it's still an honor to meet you."

"Please, I like formalities as much as you do," Belle said. "Now, I hear the five of you are to head on an introductory mission into the swamps to become accustomed to the Realm of Darkness?"

"That's right," Valentina said. "It's a common introduction into the Realm of Darkness, and a necessary lesson for any Journeyman, regardless of company."

"That's true," Belle said. "But Leela is not just any Journeyman. I'd like to train her, to help her harness the powers of light she was born with."

"And her cohort?" Valentina asked. Her smile hadn't faded, but there was an edge to her words that reminded Cindy of dogs that bared their teeth to scare would-be predators away. "You'd separate Leela from them?"

"For now," Belle said. "But they can always join the first company if they wish."

"That's unnecessary, Belle." Riku pushed through a growing crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion. He tensed his jaw, though he spoke in an even tone. "Confronting them in front of everyone has a dramatic flair I didn't know you had." He jerked his head towards the various journeymen and masters in small clusters, glancing at Belle and Riku.

"If you hadn't forced your way past Nurudeen to get this cohort into your company, I wouldn't have to." Belle regarded their audience and sighed. "But you're right." Raising her voice, she said, "Everyone to your posts. If I hear from Nurudeen that anyone's late, you'll have both of us to answer to."

Keyblade Wielders filed out of the clearing, and several jumped down from the trees above them. Out of the masters, only Belle, Riku and Valentina were left. Belle glanced at Riku and said, "And while we're on the topic of dramatic flair, let's not forget the way you play up the 'mysterious lone wolf' to impress the entire camp."

Riku inclined his head. "It's not my fault the entire Realm of Light made heroes out of Sora, Kairi and me."

"Isolating yourself in the Realm of Darkness after Sora got killed didn't help." Belle said.

Riku flinched, and Belle's face softened. In a lower voice, she said, "I went too far."

"You didn't." Riku looked away and said, "It could happen again. The Reaver is out there,"

"I know," Belle said. "Which is why Leela must be trained,"

"Building barriers isn't going to—" Riku interjected.

"We would have been overrun dozens of times over if not for these barriers." Belle said. "If you helped maintain them, you'd know that —"

"It didn't help us last week," Riku said. "It didn't help Aurora."

"You know damn well we can't do anything about a Forsaken. What about the scouts you had planted around the camp?"

"And you know damn well a Forsaken can hide itself, even from some masters." Riku's blue eyes glimmered as he took a step towards Belle, who stood her ground. "Maybe I should tell my scouts to engage with one without backup. We can have another Leifsson Massacre if you want."

"You know that's not what I want." Belle said. For a second, her determined face twisted, revealing grief at the loss of a trusted partner, one who Belle had worked with for decades. Belle gulped and her mask righted itself. She said in a steady voice, "But how will Leela help this?"

"She can. I saw it when I escorted them from the Realm of Light."

"What can she do as a scout?" Belle implored. "You're wasting her talents."

"I'm not." Riku took a deep breath and said, "Please trust me." He leaned forwards and whispered into Belle's ears. Cindy's stomach had tied itself into a knot as she tried to hear what had been said. Ayuto shamelessly walked closer, but Valentina yanked him back.

Riku stepped back and let Belle consider it. Belle frowned, accentuating the wrinkles that lined her weathered face. For the first time, Cindy remembered how old Belle was. She had been present during the reclamation of Radiant Garden. She was older even than Riku. She and her prince had held their castle and town for months during the initial surge of Heartless invasions after the Cornerstone of Light had been taken.

And she had seen it all taken from her.

Belle sighed, then looked at Leela, who had practically retreated behind her friends. "I'm sorry, Leela, but you will be spending time with me. I'll allow you to join your cohort on some missions, but this encampment needs your power."

"Of course," Leela said. Her lip trembled but she joined Belle without hesitating. Cindy had always admired that kind of altruism. "I understand."

Ayuto glared at Belle, who ignored him. She glanced at Riku and said, "I'll give you time to train her. But I hope to see results"

Riku nodded, and Belle beckoned for Leela to follow. The jungle soon covered both of them, leaving Riku, Valentina, and what was left of Cindy's cohort. Ayuto still glared into the bushes, while Jean and Kayla were muttering something Cindy couldn't hear. Her fingers tapped a rapid rhythm against her leg, and she let them.

Leela was a Princess of Heart. It was natural they would train her as one, instead of an ordinary journeyman. It was all for the best, for the best, for the best. Cindy repeated the phrase like a mantra, and it helped her focus as Riku started debriefing them on their mission.

* * *

 **So yeah, it's been a while. My bad. As usual, hope you guys enjoyed! First impressions and feedback are always appreciated. Thanks!**


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